The federal judge who oversaw the political prosecution of former Democratic Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was arrested over the weekend after allegedly beating his wife in a posh hotel room in Atlanta...

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller was charged with misdemeanor battery and taken to the Fulton County jail around 2:30 Sunday morning. Fuller, 55, is a judge in the Middle District of Alabama and presided over the 2006 bribery trial of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.

Police responded to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at 181 Peachtree Street at 10:47 p.m. According to Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones, officers spoke to Fuller's wife, "who stated she was assaulted by her husband." Fuller's wife, who was not named by police, was treated by paramedics but refused treatment at a hospital.

According to Dan Whistenhunt of Decaturish.com, the Atlanta Police report says "The wife explained that she accused Fuller of having an affair with his law clerk. She said Fuller pulled her hair, threw her to the ground and kicked her. She told police that Fuller dragged her around the room and struck her in the mouth several times with his hands."

"Fuller said his wife threw a glass at him. Fuller said he grabbed his wife's hair 'to defend himself," Whistenhunt reports. "'When asked about the lacerations on her mouth, Mr. Fuller stated that he just threw her to the ground and that was it,' the report says."

"Police later discovered blood in the bathroom on the tub. Fuller did not have any marks or bruises, the officer noted. After medical personnel arrived, they noted additional bruises on his wife's legs."

"Fuller has faced allegations of domestic abuse before," Whistenhunt goes on to report. "The Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press reported in 2012 that a Montgomery circuit judge sealed Fuller's divorce records. The divorce file is, "wrought with accusations of domestic violence, drug abuse and the judge's alleged affair with his court bailiff," according to the Reporters Committee."

When asked for comment this afternoon, Siegelman's daughter Dana described the news as "shocking" and "disturbing", but said the matter "seems to fall in line with the Buddhist philosophy of karma."

The BRAD BLOG has covered the Siegelman case in great detail over the years. The former governor, who is now serving time in a federal correctional institution in Louisiana for what 113 bi-partisan former Attorneys General agree had never been a crime before his promising political career was derailed by it, has long alleged that Fuller, a George W. Bush appointee to the federal bench, had deep conflicts of interest on the case, and should have recused himself. Siegelman was found guilty on charges of bribery, though he insists, and the evidence shows, he never received any personal enrichment. (See 60 Minutes' 2008 coverage of the outrageous Siegelman prosecution right here.)

There has been a great deal of criticism of Fuller's refusal to recuse himself from the case against Siegelman, who has been described by supporters as "America's political prisoner". His work on the trial has been characterized as a "grudge match" by an extremely partisan judge with deep ties to GOP strategist Karl Rove against a very popular Democrat whose appointee had once investigated him.

Yet, even as efforts to free her father continue, and as Fuller was released from jail late today after posting a $5,000 bond, Dana Siegelman went on to offer a note of sympathy to Fuller's wife, family, and even Fuller himself...

"Regardless of the pain that he has caused my family, I still wish him, his family, and especially the woman he hurt the best," she told us via email.

As Dana guest-blogged for The BRAD BLOG in 2012, just before her father reported to federal prison, "The main players in my father's prosecution, U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, her husband Bill Canary (who ran my father's opponent's campaign), former Alabama Attorney General now 11th Circuit Federal Judge Bill Pryor, and Federal Judge Mark Fuller have all been connected to Rove."

Fuller had been a client of Rove's when serving on the Alabama GOP's powerful Executive Committee before the prosecution of Siegelman, which directly resulted in his Republican opponent Bob Riley coming to office. As a political consultant, Rove worked closely with the Alabama GOP to engineer the takeover of that state's court system in the 90s.

"William Canary and Karl Rove masterminded the Alabama G.O.P.'s strategy of taking the Alabama courts back in 1994," Scott Horton of Harper's Magazine reported in 2007 as part of a lengthy series of investigative articles on Fuller during Siegelman's prosecution. "It was brilliantly successful."

Bill Canary was Riley's campaign manager and also married to U.S. Attorney Leura Canary who began Siegelman's prosecution and, according to Siegelman supporters, inappropriately advised throughout the case. When appointed to the federal bench by Bush in 2002, according to Horton, Fuller "had neither judicial nor federal prosecutorial experience, which are usually considered desirable for candidates for a federal judgeship."

"His appointment is a testament to the remarkable success of Karl Rove's long-term political strategy," Horton charged in another piece.

While digging deeply into Fuller's conflicts of interest in the case, Horton found, among other things, that a District Attorney appointed by Siegelman had discovered financial improprieties by Fuller's office when he served as District Attorney. At the time, Fuller described the audit's findings as "politically motivated".

"Think about that for a moment," Horton wrote. "Fuller, an Alabama Republican stalwart, leaves for the federal bench --- then finds his work as District Attorney under investigation by his replacement Gary McAliley. Fuller's federal position was secure but his reputation was bruised, and he responded to his critics by insisting he left the D.A.'s office in 'sound financial condition.' But he also let it be known that he felt that he was under political attack --- by a recent Siegelman appointee. Given that, ask yourself: why would Fuller, a man with very good reason to have a grudge against Siegelman's entire operation, not recuse himself from judging Siegelman?"

Horton added at the time: "To me, it looks like there was a score to settle."

After Siegelman was initially found guilty, rather than be released on appeal, as would normally be the custom in such cases, Fuller ordered the former Democratic Governor --- who was once seen as a promising Presidential prospect --- shackled and removed from the courtroom.

"At Siegelman's sentencing," according to Fuller's Wikipedia page, "Fuller had Siegelman taken from the courtroom in handcuffs and leg manacles and sent immediately to prison. Grant Woods, former Republican Attorney General of Arizona, on 60 Minutes commented, 'That tells you that this was personal. You would not do that to a former governor.'"

If the charges are true that Fuller was physically abusing his wife --- even as Siegelman continues to serve out his 6.5 year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana --- it may finally be time for Fuller to receive his own set of handcuffs and leg manacles as he's shuffled off for a lengthy prison sentence.

For the second time this year, prisoners in Alabama are planning a nonviolent demonstration and work stoppage to protest conditions inside the state’s prisons.

Melvin Ray, an inmate at the St. Clair correctional facility in Springville and founder of prison-based group Free Alabama Movement (FAM) says this weekend’s strike is an effort to improve education programs and end overcrowding, harsh sentencing, and what he calls “the free labor system” in which prisoners work for little-to-no monetary compensation.

In an interview with Salon, Ray said, “There is not even a pretense of doing anything about ‘corrections’ … they’re running a slave empire.” Ray says not enough is being done to rehabilitate inmates for their lives after incarceration.

Ray stressed the importance of this weekend’s demonstration remaining nonviolent, acknowledging that violence is one of the main reasons many inmates are imprisoned.

The work inmates do includes food preparation, laundry, and facility maintenance. The Alabama Department of Corrections also runs a prison industries program which operates 17 different facilities across the state where inmates do everything from furniture construction to license-plate manufacturing.

Most inmates work inside the prisons and receive no wages. According to the state Department of Corrections, that’s how it has always been. Other inmates work in outside facilities and receive only 35 to 50 cents per hour as compensation for their labor.

Ray says the reason his group has decided to protest with work stoppages is because labor remains “the only weapon or strategy … we have,” adding, “They’re incarcerating people for the free labor.”

Ray spoke to Salon from prison using a cell phone – something he’s forbidden to have by prison rules – and did not explain how he was able to make the call.

A similar FAM-led protest in January spread from the St. Clair facility – which is located outside of Birmingham – to the Holman correctional facility, near Mobile. The two facilities are more than 200 miles apart. FAM has also posted dozens of cell phone videos to YouTubeto show what conditions are like inside the prisons.

Ray says he is unsure how long this weekend’s protest will last, but believes that the longer it continues, the more it will spread. “If a prison goes down for two weeks, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll capture another prison,” he told Salon. But if it lasts for three weeks, he said “there’s no telling how many prisons might get in.”

The Department of Corrections and the Alabama governor’s office did not respond to Salon’s request for comment, but during January’s protest, officials said some inmates might be disciplined for refusing to work. A spokesman for the Department of Corrections also noted in January that some of the inmates’ requests – like changes to parole and sentencing – were outside of the department’s authority.

Other complaints against Alabama’s prison system have been reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal officials released a report in January after investigating one of the state’s prisons for women. The report cited “serious systemic operational deficiencies” that exposed inmates to “staff-on-prisoner sexual abuse and sexual harassment.”

Ray says he does not believe government officials will reform the state’s prison system. “No one is going to do anything,” he told Salon. “So we have to do it ourselves.”

]]>amiller6210@gmail.com (Nick Ramsey | MSNBC)AlabamaSun, 20 Apr 2014 12:54:39 +0000Rep. Terri's Sewell's Press Release on Medicaid/Gov Bentleyhttp://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3558-rep-terris-sewells-press-release-on-medicaidgov-bentley
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3558-rep-terris-sewells-press-release-on-medicaidgov-bentleyAlabama's 7th District Congresswoman Terri Sewell just released this press release a few moments ago. We are delighted that she has joined with Progressive Democrats of America, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and the Birmingham Metro Chapter of the NAACP to urge Governor Bentley to accept federal Medicaid funds and has herewith shown her convictions on this issue. From Rep. Sewell...

Statement from Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell Urging the State of Alabama to Expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act

December 10, 2013

“Beginning in January, millions of Americans will begin receiving health coverage under the Medicaid expansion in their states. Because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), states can choose to expand their Medicaid coverage to all adults with incomes below 133% of poverty. These states receive 100 percent of federal funding to cover these costs for the first three years and 90 percent or more in federal support in the following years. If the State of Alabama takes advantage of the Medicaid expansion opportunity provided under the ACA, there will be 235,000 fewer uninsured Alabamians by 2016.

It would therefore be economically and morally responsible for Alabama to expand Medicaid for the working poor and elderly across our state. It is my hope that our state will take the steps necessary by December 31st to ensure that these 235,000 Alabamians are given the healthcare they deserve.”

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - Frigid temperatures Saturday afternoon didn't keep a group from rallying in protest of Governor Robert Bentley's decision not to expand the state's Medicaid Programs.

For months, Alabama has stood firm behind its decision to opt out of the Medicaid expansion set to go into effect next year as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Among the diverse group was recent Samford University graduate Elizabeth Milne.

Milne is currently working two jobs, neither provide options for healthcare. She's also a foster child, and cannot get insurance through her parents.

"When the Affordable Care Act website was up, I filled out the forms and I got a message that said although I could be eligible for free or reduced cost healthcare, the State of Alabama has chosen not to extend coverage to me t this time," said Milne.

She later read an article stating 36 percent of Alabamians fall into a gap between the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

Her own personal situation brought her to to Kelly Ingram Park to participate in the rally.

" I just wanted to come out here to just say that it's time to expand Medicaid and it's time for Alabama to stop being the last state of all the states to do what's right

The Birmingham Metro NAACP, Progressive Democrats of America and Greater, Birmingham Ministries coordinated the demonstration. The rally's speakers assured the crowd that many more demonstrations would take place throughout the state, particularly at the state capitol.

Governor Bentley stands firm in his position against Medicaid expansion in Alabama, which he made clear during a recent visit to a non-profit in Huntsville this week.

“We’ve totally redone that program and we’re going to make it a workable program,” said Bentley.

"Our goal is to create more jobs in the state of Alabama like here at Phoenix or other places and have fewer people on Medicaid – that’s our ultimate goal,” the adds..

Bentley has repeatedly said the state can’t afford to take on the cost for the estimated 300,000 new participants once the federal matching funds begin to drop in 2017.

Studies by two Alabama universities counter the governor's position, saying the overall economic benefits to the state would outweigh the additional medical costs – by millions of dollars and thousands of jobs – if Alabama changed its stance and expanded Medicaid.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Representatives of Greater Birmingham Ministries, the Birmingham chapter of the NAACP and the Progressive Democrats of America gathered Monday in Birmingham's Kelly Ingram Park to urge Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley to expand Medicaid coverage in Alabama under the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare.

"Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do now," Scott Douglas, the executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries, said. "Now is the right time to do it, and Alabama's working families need it, and that should be reason enough. If the governor refuses to act, thousands of our poorest residents will lack affordable health care coverage, while people with more income will get help with their premiums."

Under the Affordable Care Act, states can expand Medicaid coverage to people earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level. That would mean individuals making up to $15,415 would be eligible for Medicaid coverage in Alabama, according to a Kaiser study. Right now, the income cap for individuals without disabilities or children in Alabama is $3,221.

The federal government would foot the whole bill for the expansion for the first three years, and pay at least 90 percent of the bill in the years following. 29 states have chosen to expand Medicaid or are moving towards it, according to the Advisory Board Company. Alabama is not among them.

The organizers of Monday's event plan are launching a statewide campaign to make Alabama one of the states that accepts the Medicaid money.

Grayson Brown of the Progressive Democrats of America made an economic argument for Medicaid expansion, calling it a "good deal for Alabama." He cited a study done by the University of Alabama that found Medicaid expansion could generate a $28 billion increase in overall business activity from 2014 to 2020, and create 30,000 jobs. In addition, the study says that 300,000 people would be covered under Medicaid.

"In summary, this is government malpractice," Brown said. "We call on Gov. Bentley to obtain a government malpractice insurance policy in the amount of $28 billion to cover us."

"It's not going to produce more doctors, it's not going to produce more nurses, it's not going to produce more hospitals," Bentley said last week in Gadsden. "They're already here. Those patients are already being seen."

"My goal is not to expand Medicaid, my goal is to have fewer people on Medicaid and have more people working," Bentley said.

]]>amiller6210@gmail.com (Madison Underwood | AL.com)AlabamaTue, 29 Oct 2013 00:28:21 +0000Former Alabama Governor Is a Political Prisoner; President Obama, Pardon Him NOW!http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3321-former-alabama-governor-is-a-political-prisoner-president-obama-pardon-him-now
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3321-former-alabama-governor-is-a-political-prisoner-president-obama-pardon-him-nowListen to our show with Dana and Joseph Siegelman

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, now in federal prison, is coming up on his one-year anniversary of unjust incarceration. Don is not a criminal. He is an American political prisoner—targeted, prosecuted, and jailed unjustly.

We need your help. Please join us in asking President Obama to pardon Don and set him free now!

One hundred and thirteen former and current Attorneys General (Republicans and Democrats) signed an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court stating that Don's "crime" was no crime at all.

So what are the facts that put Don behind bars? Simply put, one wealthy Alabama businessman made a donation to the Alabama Democratic Party. This donation was to be used to pay off part of the debt that arose from a campaign to start a state lottery to help high school kids attend state colleges—a cause that Don was passionate about. (The campaign failed and Alabama never got a lottery). The donation was to the Alabama Democratic Party, not to Don Siegelman.

The donor was later appointed to a non-paying position on the state’s hospital board, but this was not a quid pro quo. The donor was neither a friend, nor supporter, of Don Siegelman. He had not supported Don’s gubernatorial campaign, and was not a member of Don's political party. Moreover, the donor had been appointed to the same non-paying position by previous Republican governors of Alabama. Because of his expertise, he was simply the most logical choice for this re-appointment. The press, the media, and the public—spoon fed by the prosecutors—created a crime where no crime existed!

Now Don is serving a seven-year prison sentence, not because he is a criminal, but because he was the most popular Democrat in the South since Bill Clinton, and this threatened the GOP Southern Strategy of permanent control of state governments in the South.

This is banana republic stuff. It is shameful for The United States and our constitution. And yet it's been effective. Don Seigelman remains in prison. And most Americans don't even know of this injustice. If we let them lock up an innocent man because he was a popular politician who is next? You? Me?

]]>amiller6210@gmail.com (Mimi Kennedy)AlabamaSat, 31 Aug 2013 01:41:46 +0000The 7 Most Dysfunctional State Partieshttp://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3224-the-7-most-dysfunctional-state-parties
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3224-the-7-most-dysfunctional-state-partiesIn the past two years, one state party chairman was investigated by the local bar association. Elsewhere, an about-to-be-ousted party leader changed the locks at the headquarters. Two more state parties were threatened with eviction.

Traditionally, state parties have been the meeting point between the national political organizations and the local ground game. But in recent cycles, many of them have become so dysfunctional that they are now irrelevant — or even worse, detrimental, to the national party’s efforts.

The reasons behind their ineptitude vary: Some parties struggle with finances, others with competing personalities. For Republicans, many of the problems stem from power struggles between tea party activists and old guard operatives.

Does it matter if the state party is dysfunctional, especially in the age of shadow campaigns and ubiquitous third-party spending? It depends whom you ask.

Of the dozens of operatives CQ Roll Call interviewed, most had such low regard for state parties that they shrugged off the incompetence. They described the evolution of a state party’s role in federal politics as a glorified bank account for cheaper television and postage rates.

Still, some operatives stress that a functional state party is crucial to a national party’s interests in some states. One hired hand argued that a strong state party infrastructure is particularly important in fast-paced special elections.

Here’s a look at the seven most dysfunctional state parties. Their selection was based on interviews with national and local operatives, elected officials, former and current staff, plus local news reports. The selection aimed to mostly include states that could affect the midterm elections, as well as the extent of their dysfunction.

CQ Roll Call sought comment from these organizations, and their responses are noted only if the inquiry was returned.

Alabama Democratic Party

Yellowhammer State Democrats struggle to keep the lights on — literally.

Earlier this year, Mark Kennedy bolted from the state party’s top job to form a group called the Alabama Democratic Majority.

Soon after, interim chairwoman Nancy Worley announced the committee was in dire financial straits: It had been threatened with eviction, was unable to pay utility bills, had its credit cards maxed out and was missing equipment from the party’s headquarters, according to The Birmingham News.

The party is now saddled with $500,000 in debt and is tasked with finding a permanent chairman and recruiting statewide candidates for 2014. Meanwhile, Kennedy took to the Alabama Democratic Majority’s Facebook page to defend his tenure and maintained his new group would support — not sabotage — the state party.

The state of Alabama Democrats might not matter much in 2014, given that there are no competitive House races in the state. But the party’s situation is indicative of Democrats’ dire organizational situation throughout the Deep South.

Alaska Republican Party

Twice this spring, Republicans gave their state party leaders the pink slip.

Just before she was ousted as chairwoman, Debbie Brown changed the locks at the party headquarters. Then she headed to a Republican National Committee meeting in California, where she claimed to be the current head of the party. Talk about awkward: The newly elected chairman, retired Army Col. Peter Goldberg, also attended.

Normally this sort of drama is inconsequential in a state as solidly Republican as Alaska. But the GOP will play offense as it attempts to defeat Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat, in 2014. What’s more, local Republicans will have to contend with a primary for the nomination — most likely without a strong party leadership to guide that battle.

Goldberg said that since he took over, he has righted the fundraising woes that plagued the party under the previous regimes.

As in much of the South, the Peach State’s Democratic Party has decayed for years. But Georgia’s problems are more consequential than in other states.

After 2010, the party fell on tough times — Democrats no longer held any statewide offices. In June, Chairman Mike Berlon stepped down from leading the cash-strapped party after the state bar association temporarily suspended his law license and the Georgia Supreme Court reprimanded him for work with a private client.

None of this bodes well for Democrats: Georgia is one of only two feasible states where the party could pick up a Senate seat in 2014. And Democrats hope to use this contest —and their much-touted candidate, nonprofit executive Michelle Nunn — as a test case in a state where changing demographics could shift votes in their favor by 2016.

Still, Peach State Democrats remain hopeful about Nunn, who announced this week she will seek retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ seat. Georgia Democratic Party spokeswoman Liz Flowers praised the interim chairwoman’s efforts and called Nunn’s newfound national relevance “icing on the cake.”

Iowa Republican Party

Over the past few years, supporters of former Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, infiltrated local party ranks in targeted states across the country. But nowhere has the effort been more effective or consequential than in this battleground state.

Paul backers now make up a working majority of the state central committee and occupy the offices of chairman, co-chairman and finance chairman. Their ranks are in constant conflict with Gov. Terry E. Branstad, the state’s most established Republican, and many GOP state lawmakers.

“You’re always going to have bickering and infighting. The idea that somehow we’re a troubled state party is a little bit ridiculous and if you talked to Chairman [Reince] Priebus, he would be happy to agree with that,” Iowa GOP Chairman A.J. Spiker said. He brushed off the notion of ongoing trouble with Branstad and touted his committee’s financial position.

The local discord scares the national GOP — its most immediate concern is the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin. National Republicans fear the state’s antiquated convention process could help the Paul supporters nominate an unelectable candidate for the general.

But these troubles come at a pivotal time for Iowa on the national scale, too. The state is fighting for relevance in the presidential primary calendar after the past two caucus winners failed to get the national nod.

Minnesota Republican Party

Just a few years ago, the Minnesota GOP held a Senate seat, hosted the Republican National Convention in St. Paul and its governor, Tim Pawlenty, was laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign.

Since then, the party posted $2 million in debt, according to local reports, with former Chairman Tony Sutton shouldering the blame. He was forced out in late 2011. By the next spring, the state was nearly evicted from its building.

Local party officers credit former state GOP Chairman Pat Shortridge with staunching the party’s financial bleeding. But the GOP still has a long way to recover.

And for Gopher State Republicans, the timing could not be worse. The party has incredible opportunities in 2014, with a gubernatorial race, a Senate race and two competitive House seats up for grabs. But it’s unlikely the party can help its candidates, given its current condition.

Nevada Republican Party

In May 2012, Paul’s supporters took over the state party at the local convention in what sources describe as a “Robert’s Rules of Order” war of attrition. Within a few weeks, Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee unveiled a shadow party structure for their operations called “Team Nevada.”

A few months later, the two camps came to a head at the national party convention, when the national party refused to count the state GOP delegate votes for Paul.

More established party operatives won back several consequential county chairmanships in recent weeks, but there is little evidence that the gaps between the two factions have been bridged.

New Jersey Democratic Party

This party’s problems can be boiled down to two words: Chris Christie.

New Jersey’s governor is one of the most powerful executives in the country. The Garden State is otherwise a Democratic stronghold, but not having the top office hurts the party immensely.

Local Democrats are frustrated they could only find a second-tier candidate to challenge Christie later this year. But the party’s troubles stem from another Christie contest.

In 2009, Christie defeated then-Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat who propped up the state party infrastructure with his personal fortune. After Corzine left office, local organizations found themselves financially “flatfooted,” described one state source.

The good news for Democrats? The Christie era must end: He will either run for president or reach his term limit in 2017. After him, the local GOP bench remains weak, and Democrats hope the natural order of blue state politics will return.

]]>janskay@gmail.com (Abby Livingston | Roll Call)AlabamaWed, 24 Jul 2013 22:50:34 +0000The Federation of Southern Cooperatives to honor C.T. Vivianhttp://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3217-the-federation-of-southern-cooperatives-to-honor-ct-vivian
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3217-the-federation-of-southern-cooperatives-to-honor-ct-vivianOn Thursday, August 15, 2013 at the Birmingham Sheraton in Birmingham, Alabama, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund (Federation) will honor the legendary C.T. Vivian at its Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner. William Nelson, President of the CHS Foundation, will serve as honorary chair of the event. The Annual Meeting will be held on August 16 & 17 at the Federation's Rural Training and Research Center in Epes, Alabama; however, some events and workshops will also take place in Birmingham on August 15 (please see the agenda for the schedule).

In 1965, when confronting Dallas County Sheriff Jim Clark in Selma, Alabama regarding voting rights, C.T. Vivian said "This is a national problem. You can't keep anyone in the United States from voting without hurting the rights of all other citizens. Democracy's built on this." Indeed, along this line of justice for all, beautifully articulated by Reverend Vivian, throughout it's 46 years the Federation has always sought to attain both economic and social justice for rural southern communities. It is known, in fact, that when rural America does well, the whole nation is positively impacted.

The Annual Meeting celebration at the Federation's Rural Training & Research Center in Epes, Alabama will include workshops and plenaries on the ongoing Farm Bill negotiation, cooperative development, rural development programs, and an update on the Black Farmer and Women Lawsuit filed against the USDA. There will also be a fish fry and auction on Friday evening followed by state caucuses on Saturday.

"We look forward to seeing you at our 46th Annual celebration to honor C.T. Vivian in Birmingham and at our Annual Meeting in Epes," said Ralph Paige, Executive Director of the Federation. "Once again it is time when our members, friends and stakeholders come together from around the country to chart a course for our future direction.... and to develop strategies for fair and just policies that lead to stronger and more vibrant rural communities. See you there!"

Exactly one week after a Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, hundreds gathered for another march and rally in Birmingham, part of a nationwide effort spearheaded by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

More than 500 people marched, chanted and sang this afternoon outside Birmingham City Hall and in Kelly Ingram Park to speak out against Zimmerman's acquittal.

Sharpton's National Action Network organized "Justice for Trayvon" rallies in at least 101 cities Saturday, Birmingham's rally among them. Sharpton called for the rallies to be in front of federal courthouses.

Similar events held throughout the state, including one in Montgomery that also drew a large crowd, promoted changes to self-defense, or "Stand your Ground," laws and to urge federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch leader.

"People all across the country will gather to show that we are not having a two- or three-day anger fit. This is a social movement for justice," Sharpton said this week.

Sheila Tyson, of the National Action Network, and Frank Matthews, of the Outcast Voters' League helped organize today's rally and march. Both Tyson and Matthews addressed those assembled, as did a host of others, including Birmingham City Councilman Jay Roberson and Bishop Calvin Woods, the president of the Birmingham chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Kim McCoy, the spokeswoman for the Trayvon Martin Foundation, spoke to the Birmingham crowd over the phone, saying that Martin's family appreciates the support and prayers.

"The family is heartbroken by the verdict," McCoy said. "But it has not weakened their faith in God, and they have drawn great strength from your support."

Xavier Smith, a Birmingham resident and UAB graduate, described Trayvon Martin's case as a tragedy and a travesty, but said he remains concerned about Birmingham's problems, especially violence in the black community.

Around the time Martin was killed, Birmingham recorded several homicides of its own that warrant local attention, he said.

"We need to start with our house," Smith said. "We must progress and stop violence in the black community."

For Tyrone Johnson, Martin's shooting hit especially close to home. When Johnson was 19, he was involved in a confrontation with a 43-year-old white man in a mall parking lot.

After the man beat on Johnson's car and hit him, Johnson pulled out a knife and cut him. He was charged with malicious wounding and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

"I'm not bitter about that, or about white people," Johnson said. "God is good, and he's taken care of me."

Because of his experience, and in light of Martin's shooting, Johnson urges caution with his sons, who are 17 and 20, and asks them to keep him informed of their whereabouts as much as possible.

"If something like this happens, I need to know so I can come to (my sons') defense," Johnson said.

Pratt City resident Joseph Black attended the rally because he felt the trial was unfair and also to show his opposition to Stand Your Ground laws in effect across the country.

Rachel Doughty, of Birmingham, also strongly opposes the laws and expressed concern about what constitutes a threat when an unarmed person is walking down the street.

"I don't want to live in the wild, wild West where everyone is armed, fearful and shooting other people," she said.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that his department would investigate whether Zimmerman could be charged under federal civil rights laws. Such a case would require evidence that Zimmerman harbored racial animosity against Martin, but most legal experts say that would be a difficult charge to bring.

]]>amiller6210@gmail.com (Kelsey Stein | al.com)AlabamaSun, 21 Jul 2013 14:11:42 +0000State announces plan for free IDs under new photo voter ID law http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3183-state-announces-plan-for-free-ids-under-new-photo-voter-id-law-
http://www.pdacommunity.org/alabama/3183-state-announces-plan-for-free-ids-under-new-photo-voter-id-law-MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- Voters without photo identification will have two options for getting a free ID from the state before the state's new photo voter ID law kicks in next year, Secretary of State Beth Chapman announced today.

Alabama’s new law requiring people to show a government-issued photo ID to vote is scheduled to go into effect with the party primaries in June of 2014. The law -- to get around accusations that it's a modern poll tax to make people buy ID -- also requires that the state have an option for a free ID.

Chapman today announced a proposal for complying with the free ID requirement.

She said voters can go to the Department of Public Safety office in their county and get a free non-drivers identification card. The secretary of state will reimburse Public Safety for the cost. Voters can also go to their local Board of Registrars office and get a free photo voter ID there.

In both places, people will have to submit proof of identification and a form attesting that they do not possess one of the accepted forms of ID required by the Alabama law.

A private vendor will be selected to provide the ID cards at registrar offices and also in some mobile capacity.

“By having a multi-pronged approach, we will provide adequate places where citizens can receive a free photo voter ID. We would like for people to remember that you only need to obtain this free ID if you do not currently have a proper form of ID,” Chapman said.

The types of ID accepted under the voter ID law are:

-- A valid driver's license or non-driver ID card.

- A valid photo voter ID card or other valid ID card issued by any state or the federal government.

- A valid U.S. passport.

- A valid government employee ID card with a photo

- A valid student or employee ID card issued by a college or university in the state, provided it includes a photo

- A valid U.S. military ID card containing a photo.

- A valid tribal ID card containing a photo.

Chapman said when the proposed rules are finalized, and a vendor is in place, there will be a media campaign to spread the word.

Alabama voters for years have been required to show identification at the polls, but many forms of non-photo ID have been allowed, such as a utility bill, a Social Security card or a copy of a birth certificate.

Alabama lawmakers in 2011, shortly after Republicans took control of the State House, approved the photo ID requirement for use beginning in the 2014.

The state never had to submit the law for preclearance with the U.S. Department of Justice.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Luther Strange said earlier this month that the state was waiting for the secretary of state’s office to develop rules for the free voter ID

The state announced the rules three days after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively lifted the preclearance requirement. Strange and Chapman said the state is free to use the law in 2014.

Lawmakers in 18 states have approved photo voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, although some of those laws are entangled in court.

The debate over photo voter ID has been highly partisan. Republicans and proponents have said the strict ID requirement is needed to guard against voter fraud.

“This is something that the legislature passed that I have been in favor of for a long time. I believe the citizens of Alabama and their vote will be better protected under this new law,” Chapman said.

Some Democrats and opponents said the ID laws are aimed at making it harder for the poor, elderly and minorities to vote.

"The majority of the old people and poor people don’t have photo ID. The Republican-led Legislature, they know that.” Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said.

Holmes said it is "better" if there is some sort of mobile unit that will help people get the free IDs without traveling to an office. However, he said he thought it was still an intimidation to the poor and elderly.

Holmes said he expects a legal challenge to Alabama's law.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has indicated that national estimates are that 11 percent of eligible voters lack government issued photo identification.

The group did not have an Alabama-specific estimate.

Gov. Robert Bentley said he is also asking his commissioner of the Alabama Department of Senior Services, to help develop a plan to make sure seniors get the needed document.

“I want to remove any obstacle that could keep any eligible voter from exercising their constitutional right to vote," Bentley said.